Feature Articles

When weekends begin looking like hot summer nights beneath stadium lights, sounding like country music coming through the speakers, tasting like concession stand cheeseburgers and Old Bay French fries, and feeling like a neighborhood reunion in the stadium bleachers…you know the boys of summer have come back to town. Deltas When...

Occasionally, a brick-n-mortar restaurant can trace its roots back to a diner on wheels. That’s the case with The Seafood Shack in Mathews, where Amy Blanock Hudgins’ and Robert Martin’s mobile seafood market evolved into a food truck and then a popular eatery. The transformation took less than five...

Experience is a good teacher. Here are a few things learned the hard way in my 40 years of motor boating in a 20-foot boat. This list was compiled with the help of J.C. “Bo” Burton of Mathews, who was a Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) law enforcement officer for...

The nostalgic, delicious taste of seafood from old Lowery’s Restaurant in Tappahnnock is back as 528 Prime Steak and Seafood. The restaurant has recently opened in the old Lowery’s building with a Chesapeake Bay flavor and an Italian twist. Chef Vittorio Castiglia immigrated to the United States from Miseno, Italy...

You can feel the salty breeze from the Chesapeake Bay as you let wind catch sail in open waters, you can see untouched forestry in nature as you explore the woods by foot, and you can be encapsulated by historic charm driving down any town’s Main Street. However, nothing...

  There’s a musical movement happening where the crossroads meet in Gloucester County. Think family reunion meets Woodstock, a place where strangers greet each other like long lost friends and the stresses of everyday life seem to disappear. It’s a place where you get lost in the sounds and the...

You know that place where everyone likes to hang out? A trip to LeadBelly’s is like that. Whether you are part of the after-church crowd or fresh off the boat in your flip-flops, all are at home and welcome to enjoy good food and good company at this waterfront...

Some of us cook, measuring carefully and following recipes note for note. Then there are those like chef Craige Gaskins who create with food, improvising like a jazz musician and using recipes as a starting off point. Gaskins, a one-man band at Rita’s Cafe, has been crafting a seafood focused...

In honor of 30 years of The Rivah Visitor's Guide we are featuring stories that have previously been printed throughout our 30 year history. This feature story appeared in the August 2013 issue. When you live near the Chesapeake Bay, at some point during the summer the answer to the...

It can’t all be beachside sunsets, crabbing off the dock and boating on the Chesapeake Bay waterways in a true RIVAH spring and summer. For a well-rounded experience in the country, one ought to take some time to appreciate some of the fun the land has to offer. Getting...